DE Cameron Heyward earns top defensive marks for performance against Chiefs

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He rarely stands out because he rarely gets an opportunity to do so...

Steve McClendon played 270 defensive snaps last year and recorded 7 total tackles and 2 sacks...

Cameron Heyward played 264 defensive snaps last year and recorded 20 total tackles and 1.5 sacks...

I think they are both good players who end up riding the bench because Mitchell likes to go with his veteran players, period...

I think if Keisel had been injured instead of Aaron Smith, Heyward would be the multi year starter and not Hood...

You have it backwards. He rarely gets a chance to do so because he rarely stands out. The coaches watch more film and study these players more than any of us could possibly imagine. They know each players strengths and weaknesses better than the players know themselves. Its not like Cam has been a beast and they are holding him back. Fact is he has done ZERO to seperate himself. To me that means his upside is as a role player at best.

Unfortunately I have to agree with you and Eddie. I say unfortunately because I like Heyward and was really hoping for more after Hood has been average. I hope the change in d-line philosophy results in better performances by both Hood and Heyward. I have more hope for Cam than I do for Ziggy.

Who wasn't hoping for more? I think most fans wanted a defensive line that drove OL 7 yards off the ball. Reality just isn't there in that respect.

We are talking about a first round pick, in his 3rd year in the NFL, grading out great against back ups and draft picks. Pardon me for not being very excited. First round picks on 3-4 DE is a moronic move. Our best 3-4 ends, Smith, Kemo, Keisel, were late round picks and a cheap free agent. Tomlin can't judge talent other than WR.

So tomLin is the only one responsible.

How many times have we heard Keith butler say he always screaming to the guys to draft LBs. he got his wish when we drafted 3 in 1 year. And they're all gone just 3 years later (Gibson, sly, forget other guy).
Heck, he was campaigning to take Hightower just last year when the obvious bigger need was decastrro.

Do you think Mitchell just sits on his hands and keeps his mouth shut when there's a DL on the board he likes?? Then you also the the defensive coordinator chiming in as well as Colbert

In my opinion the reality about Hood and Heyward is that they are late first round picks and needed this time to develop into serviceable (hopefully, better than that) NFL defensive linemen. Neither came in with the "can't miss" label. Hood will get his chance this year to prove where he's at developmentally and Heyward will get reps, Kiesel is probably gone next year and unless they are drafting a "can't miss" prospect Heyward gets the job, let's hope he's ready.

Each of these guys probably has followed the exact path that the Steelers expected when they drafted them, draft them, teach them, train them, develop them, give them minutes to get accustomed to the pro game and then replace long time vets once they either retire or are being outplayed. I don't see either of these guys not being where the Steelers expected them to be when they were drafted. The Steelers would have liked for better, but I believe that would have simply been icing on the cake.

In my opinion the reality about Hood and Heyward is that they are late first round picks and needed this time to develop into serviceable (hopefully, better than that) NFL defensive linemen. Neither came in with the "can't miss" label. Hood will get his chance this year to prove where he's at developmentally and Heyward will get reps, Kiesel is probably gone next year and unless they are drafting a "can't miss" prospect Heyward gets the job, let's hope he's ready.

Each of these guys probably has followed the exact path that the Steelers expected when they drafted them, draft them, teach them, train them, develop them, give them minutes to get accustomed to the pro game and then replace long time vets once they either retire or are being outplayed. I don't see either of these guys not being where the Steelers expected them to be when they were drafted. The Steelers would have liked for better, but I believe that would have simply been icing on the cake.

Pappy

Well written. I agree. Our DL is unfortunately asked to do thankless things which can be opposite of the skillset that got them drafted into the NFL to begin with. In that scenario you can't expect big stats or big performance.

Well written. I agree. Our DL is unfortunately asked to do thankless things which can be opposite of the skillset that got them drafted into the NFL to begin with. In that scenario you can't expect big stats or big performance.

Hell, if Keisel and Aaron SMith were black they wouldn't stand out to Steeler fans... I'm joking but not really. DE's in our scheme aren't supposed to stand out and most fans use underrated when talking about these guys.

We are talking about a first round pick, in his 3rd year in the NFL, grading out great against back ups and draft picks. Pardon me for not being very excited. First round picks on 3-4 DE is a moronic move. Our best 3-4 ends, Smith, Kemo, Keisel, were late round picks and a cheap free agent. Tomlin can't judge talent other than WR.

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of using a first round pick on a 3-4 DE either. That said, there were slim pickings in the year that Heyward came out. Tough to look at many guys in the second who would have been an upgrade:

Well written. I agree. Our DL is unfortunately asked to do thankless things which can be opposite of the skillset that got them drafted into the NFL to begin with. In that scenario you can't expect big stats or big performance.

But we also shouldn't expect these guys to get pushed around either. They need to control the OLine to free the LBs to make plays. I haven't seen enough of Heyward to make a judgement, but Hood is often off balance and weak at the point of attack. That said, I do think he had a major improvement in the last month of last season and I expect him to build from there.

But the fact that the team hasn't extended him tells me they don't believe in him either. And all of a sudden we're in a precarious position with Heyward where his deal will be running out before we really know what we've got.

At the end of the day, DLinemen are going to be a project in our system. Whether we pick em in the first round or the 7th. I'd prefer we bring a couple guys in every year as late rounders or UDFAs and just see who develops. And focus the premium picks on skill positions where it's not as big a gamble to figure out if we can convert them into the system.

But we also shouldn't expect these guys to get pushed around either. They need to control the OLine to free the LBs to make plays. I haven't seen enough of Heyward to make a judgement, but Hood is often off balance and weak at the point of attack. That said, I do think he had a major improvement in the last month of last season and I expect him to build from there.

But the fact that the team hasn't extended him tells me they don't believe in him either. And all of a sudden we're in a precarious position with Heyward where his deal will be running out before we really know what we've got.

At the end of the day, DLinemen are going to be a project in our system. Whether we pick em in the first round or the 7th. I'd prefer we bring a couple guys in every year as late rounders or UDFAs and just see who develops. And focus the premium picks on skill positions where it's not as big a gamble to figure out if we can convert them into the system.

IMO the fact they haven't extended him simply means that Pouncey and Sanders at a minimum are probably higher priorities versus our DE who is just asked to "occupy blockers." Our cap situations will still be bad next year and we just have to let some people go who given a more favorable cap situation we would keep.

IMO the fact they haven't extended him simply means that Pouncey and Sanders at a minimum are probably higher priorities versus our DE who is just asked to "occupy blockers." Our cap situations will still be bad next year and we just have to let some people go who given a more favorable cap situation we would keep.

The Steelers obviously value the DE position. If they didn't, they wouldn't have paid Smith or Keisel, or invested 2 first round picks at the position.

Hood hasn't been extended because he has not shown himself to be a particularly good player. You "occupy blockers" when you cannot be blocked individually. Aaron Smith commanded double teams. Ziggy Hood, on the other hand, does not.